Endless Loading Screen
The endless loading prank is a plain gray screen and a spinner that never, ever stops. No content, no progress, no end. It works best somewhere nobody feels they have the authority to force-quit: a shared office laptop, a meeting-room display, a machine that is not theirs.
Press F11 for maximum realism. Tap or press Esc to exit.
For the best results, add this to the device's home screen. It then opens with no address bar, no tabs and no URL, so there is nothing left to give it away.
It's the quietest prank we have, and that's the point: there's nothing alarming to react to, so people just wait. Want an obvious cause for the wait? The fake Windows update at least explains itself. Want something that looks broken instead of busy? Try Boot Device Not Found.
How to use the endless loading screen prank
- Press Launch Full-Screen Prank and a light gray screen appears with a spinner and a "Loading" line whose dots keep counting up.
- If the browser toolbar is still visible on a computer, press F11 on Windows or Ctrl + Cmd + F on a Mac so only the spinner shows.
- Leave the laptop open on a desk or meeting-room table and let the next person who sits down wait for it.
- Tap anywhere on the spinner or press Esc to get the page back.
Setting up the endless loading screen on a laptop, phone or office display
On a laptop or desktop, open this page in any current browser and press Launch Full-Screen Prank. The page asks the browser for full screen. If a toolbar stays put, F11 on Windows or Ctrl + Cmd + F on a Mac hides it. A meeting-room display or TV works the same way, as long as the computer driving it is the one running the page.
On a phone or tablet, add the page to the home screen first and launch it from the new icon, so no address bar sits above the spinner. iPhone Safari does not let ordinary web pages take over the whole screen, so on an iPhone the home-screen route is the one that hides the browser. While the spinner runs, the page asks the display to stay awake on browsers that support it, so the screen does not dim and give the game away.
What the loading screen shows, and what it leaves out
The screen is light gray with a gray spinner in the middle and the word "Loading" under it, its dots counting from none to three and starting over. There is no progress bar, no percentage and no app name, which is why it can pass for almost any program waiting on a server.
Nothing loads behind it and the page sends nothing anywhere. It also never changes on its own: no error appears after a minute and no timeout ends it, so the wait lasts exactly as long as you let it.
Ending the endless loading prank before it costs anyone work
One tap or click anywhere on the screen ends it, and so does Esc. If you used F11, press F11 again to bring the browser back.
Since the screen gives people nothing to react to, the reveal is the fun part. Wait until someone asks whether the Wi-Fi is down or reaches for the power button, then tap it away and show them. A minute or two of waiting is plenty; what makes a good prank is the part where everyone laughs, not the part where someone gives up.
Skip it on a machine someone needs for a deadline, a presentation or a call. The natural response to a hung screen is a forced restart, and any unsaved work goes with it.
Frequently asked questions
How do you make a fake loading screen?
Open this page and press F11 for fullscreen. The spinner runs indefinitely on its own. It's a normal web animation with nothing behind it, so there's nothing to configure or start.
Is anything actually loading?
Nothing at all. That's the joke: it's pure animation, waiting on content that will never arrive, which is exactly what a genuinely hung application looks like from the outside.
Why is an endless spinner more annoying than an error message?
Because an error gives you permission to act. A spinner implies something is still working, so people keep waiting rather than restarting. A stalled progress bar is worse than a crash for the same reason.
How long will it run for?
Indefinitely, until the tab is closed or Esc is pressed. It does not time out, give up, or eventually show an error, because there's no request behind it to fail.
Does it work on a phone?
Yes. The spinner sits in the middle of any screen size, so it looks the same on mobile. On a phone it reads as an app that's hung rather than a slow website, especially if you add it to the home screen so no browser bar shows.
Will it drain the battery?
The page itself uses very little: the spinner is a light CSS animation with a small timer for the dots, nothing like video. The bigger draw is the screen, because while it runs the page asks the display to stay awake on browsers that support it. Plug a laptop in if you plan to leave it for a long time.
Can I use it as a placeholder or a prop?
Yes. It's handy as a stand-in loading state when filming, streaming or demoing something, since it looks generic enough to pass for almost any app.
How do I stop it?
Press Esc or close the tab. Nothing was running, so there's nothing to cancel and nothing to clean up afterwards.